Lamenting over all the great (and just ok) motorcars that never reach America's shores. You can look, but don't drive.

Sunday, February 13, 2005

First you get the Chery, then you get the ...

At last weeks Chicago autoshow, Malcolm Bricklin took time to further detail his alliance with the Chinese auto manufacturer Chery. The plan is ambitious, in a Spruce Goose kinda way. Sales projections in the 200,000 unit range, starting prices 20% below the competition, and the pitch is to be the budget BMW. But Chery automotive is not the only Chinese automotive company with global ambitions. China's Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. has been working closely with Rover in an effort to expand both companies porfolio and markets. Once the pride of Britain, Rover has hit hard times since BMW abandond the automaker in the late 1990s. Rover's last entry in the U.S. market was the tarnished Sterling sedan, a reworked Acura Ledgend who's lackluster quality and dynamics made it quite forgettable. Beyond securing the 6,000 jobs at Rover's one and only plant in Longbridge, the union with Shanghai automotive could bring Rovers and MGs to the U.S. if the Chery plans prove successful. Is there a market in the U.S. for the Rover 75 and the V8 powered MG XPower SV? Without a doubt ...